Everything Martin O’Neill had to say at his post match media conference at Tynecastle after Celtic’s 2-2 draw against Hearts…
Martin O’Neill arrives at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.
Q: Martin, when you consider your exertions over the last three days, are you happy with the point?
Martin O’Neill: “I was delighted with the effort of the team, particularly towards the end when we were down to ten men again. It was a tough old match. I expected it to be, and that’s exactly what it was.”
Q: Did you have any argument with the red card?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I do have an argument with the red card. The referee’s given a yellow card and is sent over to VAR to re-referee the game. My take on it is that, first of all, the ball is going away from the goal, so the player has to get a hold of that and control it. And secondly, and more importantly, is that we’ve got someone on the cover. So that’s what the referee saw in the first place. He was pretty close to it, and it’s not. So it puts you under severe pressure in the last 20-odd minutes.”
Referee Steven McLean shows Auston Trusty a red card after a VAR review
Q: Did you go and seek out the referee to ask for an explanation on that?
Martin O’Neill: “No, but if he gave me a chance I might do.”
If Celtic manage to win the league it will be with the weakest title winning squad in my memory.
As an adult I have been a supporter for 60+years.
Cal Mac is no longer able to dictate midfield and has no support.
MON and coaching staff working wonders with what they have.
As for the match officials it has been ever thus.
Hail Hail.
Similar to you JOHNG —I have been actively supporting Celtic for 71 years . A poor team and the decline could be seen coming for the last two seasons under BR . Journeyman players , brought-in just to keep ahead of the Ibrox Ploughboys and it has backfired on the whole club . This policy was further exasperated by the engagement of :- Paul Tisdale and Wilfreid Nancy—–Where the F##K did they get those two ????
No left-back to cover when TIERNEY went off at Tynecastle——What the F##K is going on with the B- team & Academy players ? Surely a club of Celtic’s stature should have ” Oven ready ” young players ready to step into the First-team squad , when required . Top English teams do this so why not Celtic ? Or are the Board mis-managing our ” Half-time Draw ” ticket money also ? The present Board are running around with there heads in buckets , thinking they are performing ” World -Class in everything they do ” ?
They are a crowd of amateurs in Celtic blazers who fail to realise that even despite Celtic’s vast resources ; we now have a team which is no better than most of the lesser clubs in the SPL . A Board who , try to save money by investing in “Bargain Basement” players who are surplus to requirements by other clubs , or are , ” past their SELL-BY date . The Celtic support do not deserve this and they should not suffer these clowns any longer . They bring in Martin O’Neil as a BUFFER to save their backs just as the British Crown established the Orange Order to save their backs in Northern Ireland .
We are now in the Twenty-first century and the vast majority of the Celtic support are wise to your , “Cheap-skate” tricks—Your days are numbered ; just like some of your players like : – Like Tierney , McGregor , Hetate , Maeda , Yang , Engels , McCowan ,Forest ; to name but a few —-Some have been great servants to Celtic and some have failed to produce but no organisation can progress whist carrying ” Lame Ducks ” . There is no sentiment in business ; the time for change is at hand and as Jock Stein stated , ” The Celtic jersey does not shrink to fit inferior players ” .